Cruise Crisis
by Haunting Your Kids
Summary: The Fenton family's dream getaway turns into a nightmare when Prince Aragon, with some unexpected assistance, takes over the world's oceans.
1. The Grand Prize

I'm about to do something I've never done before. Write a fic with Jazz as a strong supporting role. Anyway, there's been a lot of "Danny Phantom Goes on Vacation" fics before, but they've all been lacking something. Namely a plot that works. I'm of course joking and don't mean to offend anyone, but the summaries alone make me wonder how much thought was put into the story. Hopefully, this has a good one that we can all enjoy. It's got some pretty neat twists and turns in it, so I hope you enjoy the ride.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. A majority of the characters in the story are owned by Nickelodeon. Some characters are my own.

* * *

Cruise Crisis

* * *

Chapter 1: The Grand Prize

* * *

Life can be stressful when one lives in Amity Park. When beings from a parallel dimension known as the Ghost Zone attack the town on a semi-regular basis, it's difficult not to be stressed. None could explain any better than Danny Fenton. On a normal day, he's an average teenager, coping with the hardships of Casper High School and dealing with his scientist parents. But under the attack of ghosts, he assumes the persona of Danny Phantom, Amity Park's ghostly crime fighter and local hero. It has been a few days since the last ghost attack, and Danny was receiving a ride home from school by his older sister, Jazz.

"So," Jazz said, breaking the silence, "it's been a peaceful couple of days, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has," Danny said, merely agreeing.

"So, how was your school day?" Jazz asked, looking to get a conversation going.

"Nothing special," Danny said, going along with it. "Math was more with fractions, astrology was more about eclipses, PE was really nothing but stretching, and English was about using the semi-colon. I really don't understand that."

"No one does, Danny," Jazz quipped. After a rather awkward silence, Jazz again spoke, "So, you're not going to ask me about my day?"

"Jazz, I'm fourteen," Danny explained. "Do you think I care about how other people's school days went?"

Jazz laughed and said, "No, I suppose not."

Jazz Fenton is a brilliant girl herself. She's the smartest student in Casper High, having a 4.0 grade point average and holds the highest score ever for Casper High's mandatory career aptitude test. When she isn't pursuing her dream career of psychology, she helps her brother fight ghosts, being one of only a few to know his secret. As much as she likes to help, Danny finds her as an occasional annoyance on the battlefield, as her intense eagerness tends to lead to bad things for him, such as harm or capture from either her or the ghost they're fighting. While Jazz has been improving, Danny much prefers assistance from his two friends, Samantha "Sam" Manson and Tucker Foley.

The two finally arrived at their house, which was also the company Fenton Works, Amity Park's local family-owned ghost gadget warehouse. The siblings walked in to find their ghost-obsessed parents, Jack and Maddie, were not in the family room or the kitchen, which only left the basement, or rather, their laboratory.

Upon arriving in the kitchen, they found a note on the door that led to the basement. It read _Testing New Invention. Keep Out!_

"I wonder what they're working on this time," Jazz wondered. As soon as she was finished, an incredibly bright green light emerged from the open spaces of the closed door.

"Apparently that," Danny answered. His hero instincts kicked in as he went rushing through the door to check on his parents.

"Danny, wait," Jazz called out, concerned over what possible danger could lie ahead.

Danny arrived at the basement floor, relieved to see the lab was still intact. Directly in front, he saw a pile of envelopes under a lamp with a pair of fluorescent tubes. Jazz arrived to see the same thing just as Danny took note of the giant steel wall behind it. From behind the steel wall emerged Jack and Maddie Fenton.

"Danny, Jazz!" Maddie said, removing her safety goggles. "How long have you been down here? You could've gotten hurt."

"We just got here," Danny informed. He then pointed at the lamp and had to ask, "And what is that?"

"That is the UF Ghost Light," Jack answered.

"UF?" Jazz questioned.

"For Ultra-Fenton!" Jack proudly announced. He continued, "Postal security will never be the same when this baby is perfected. Slide a letter of package under it, and it'll eliminate any ghostly material on or inside it. We just need to focus on concentrating the light and it'll be finished."

"Did it work?" Danny asked.

Jack was about to give a positive answer, as seen by the massive grin on his face, but it quickly vanished as he explained, "I really can't say. We never checked those letters for any ghostly material. Probably should've thought that through." Jack saw the bright side and added, "But at least there isn't any ghostly material now! ...I hope."

As Jack was explaining the invention, Maddie was cycling through the letters. She pulled out one particular letter and called, "Jazz, this one's for you. It's something from _Women Geniuses_."

"It is?!" Jazz responded excitedly. She rushed over to retrieve the letter from Maddie and tore it open. She skimmed through the letter, saying, "Oh my gosh." She looked in the envelope and then screamed out loud, "OH MY GOSH!!!"

His sister hysterically giggling and jumping up and down being very foreign to him, Danny asked, "What is it?"

Jazz finally calmed herself, though still had a hint of excitement as she explained, "Okay, a month ago, _Women Geniuses_ magazine had an essay writing contest. I wrote an essay about how our ghost portal could easily lead to instant transportation around the world. And I actually won! I got the grand prize!"

"What's the prize?" Maddie asked, wanting to know so very badly.

Jazz reached into the envelope and pulled out, "Cruise tickets! WE'RE GOING ON A CRUISE!!!"

As soon as they heard the news, Jack and Maddie exploded with bouts of happiness and congratulations with Jazz. Danny, on the other hand, didn't seem nearly as elated as his other family members.

With an expression best described as a cross between happy and dull, Danny said, loud enough to get over his family's screams of joy, "Alright, a cruise getaway. Hey, Jazz, why don't we both celebrate upstairs while Mom and Dan finish up on that ghost light?"

Jazz heard and, rather confused, said, "Danny, what are you-"

"You should do that!" Jack interrupted. "When your mom and I finish up on the ghost light, we can get on the ship in a greater mood than normal!" With that, Jack moved to his children and pushed them up the stairs back to the kitchen. At the top, he pushed the kids out the door and said, "Have fun!" before going back to work on his latest invention.

Jazz didn't exactly know what to make of Danny's behavior, asking, "Danny, what was-"

"Lemme see that letter," Danny said, taking the letter without getting Jazz's say-so. Danny carefully looked over the letter, looking over what was written:

_To  
Jasmine Fenton,_

_We at _Women Geniuses_ are pleased to inform you that your essay has been selected as the winner of our annual "Genius at Work" contest. As promised, your essay will appear as an article in our next month's issue and you will be given tickets to the _Cruise de la Cruz_ cruise resort for yourself and three of your friends and/or family members, where you will spend three days and two nights in luxury suites and take place in leisurely activities. We hope that you enjoy your time on the ship._

_Sincerely__  
Christina Walker  
Chairwoman & CEO_

"Jazz, this cruise thing is obviously a trap for me," Danny pointed out.

"A trap?" Jazz said. "What are you talking about?"

"I know how these things work," Danny informed his sister. "This letters always contain some sort of hint at who's trying to trap me or take over the city or whatever. First was _Dalv Industries_, then the cruise run by M. Bersback, now Christina _Walker_. Does that ring any bells?" Danny was referring to the Ghost Zone prison warden Walker, a rule freak who has been pursuing him for the longest time.

"Danny, Christina Walker has been the chairwoman and CEO for _Women Geniuses_ for six years," Jazz informed.

"Look, I'm just being cautious," Danny said. "If something were to happen to you guys-"

"Danny, this is just a regular cruise line," Jazz had to say, wanting to show Danny how normal this is. "_Cruise de la Cruz_ has been around for years. I _know_ you've seen the commercials."

"Well, okay," Danny said, starting to run out of excuses. He then came up with, "Well, what if something happens to Amity Park? If I'm not there to-"

"Look, Danny," Jazz reassured her brother, "if it'll make you feel any better, I'll call Sam and Tucker and tell them where we keep the spare house key so they can use whatever gizmos they need to save the city themselves."

As Danny was struggling to come up with a reason for why going on the cruise was a bad idea, Jazz advised, "Look, Danny, I know how much this hero thing is stressing you out. I know how much you've been through recently. This getaway is something you need."

Danny thought about it for a bit and finally said, "I suppose you're right. I need the R&R."

"I'm glad you see it that way," Jazz smiled. "Now let's go back down and celebrate with Mom and Dad."

Just as Jazz finished her suggestion, another bright green light came through the basement door, followed by Jack calling, "Almost got it!"

"Or not," Danny suggested.

* * *

And I promise this won't take more than a year to finish.


	2. The Dethroned

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. A majority of the characters in the story are owned by Nickelodeon. Some characters are my own.

* * *

Cruise Crisis

* * *

Chapter 2: The Dethroned

* * *

The Ghost Zone. A parallel dimension that is home to alternate beings known as ghosts. The dimension holds many different doorways that lead to a variety of realms. One specific realm lay behind what could be best described as palace doors. Beyond those doors lied a medieval village in the middle of an endless forest. The centerpiece of the village was an extravagant castle, owned by the royal Mattingly family.

The realm had literally been trapped in the dark ages for the last 1600 years, time unmoving. It was only recently that Princess Dorothea, with the help of Danny Phantom and his friends, overthrew her spoiled tyrant brother, Prince Aragon, and brought the kingdom to the light to a slow, but steady progression. The villagers, now under a kinder rule, helped to repair the village after the Mattinglys' battle, bringing new life to the formerly dreary kingdom run by Aragon. No one had heard from the prince since after that battle.

It is inside the library where a series of events begins. While several of the villagers inside were observing what might be a good read or returning borrowed books, one had sat all by his lonesome for the longest time. His frame was sickly thin, his clothing a royal purple with a tattered black cape, and his face pointed down upon a book of folklore. His neck was bare of a magical amulet. His head was bare of a thorned crown that symbolized his authority and kept his long gray hair in order. The only royal decoration he had left was an heirloom dagger tied to his waist. His red eyes scanned the pages of the folklore tales, and he stroked his very protruding chin as he contemplated whether he should follow the story if it could take his throne back. This was Prince Aragon, now a miserable, bitter young (well, young-looking) man with nothing but his name.

As he continued reading, he felt a large hand grasp his shoulder. "I do not like to be touched by commoners," he sneered. The hand shook Aragon, only angering him and yelling out, "I said stay away from me, peasant!" Aragon turned around to face his offender only to be somewhat displeased. Aragon recognized the very large ghost from his black leather armor, black leather hood with a green skull print upon it, and massive ax fastened to his back.

"So, it's you, executioner" Aragon said, less than pleased. "I suppose Dorothea wants you to bring her my head."

"Not all the ghosts in this realm are loyal to Dorothea, Your Highness," the executioner spoke. "There are those such as myself who wish to see you where you rightfully belong."

"Then perhaps you have brought me my amulet?" Aragon asked, extending his hand, expecting it to be filled by the executioner.

"The princess has your amulet under tight guard," the executioner explained.

The Prince, not caring he was in a library, cursed, "Curses!" After getting various shushes, he said in a quieter tone, "If only I had my amulet, I could take back my castle in no time. Instead I'm here, aimlessly looking through book after book, seeing if there is any artifact that can rival, or even better, the power of the amulet of Aragon. But I have found nothing."

"Perhaps this may help," the executioner said, laying a book in front of the prince.

Aragon looked at the book, noticing the silk bookmark placed inside it. He opened the book where the bookmark layed and read through the marked page.

_Aside from Pandora's Box, another artifact that carries great power is Poseidon's Pearl. The power of the pearl gave Poseidon the ability to oversee all that happened in his ocean, and control it entirely. Every wave and current is said to have come from this artifact. Although its powers are only limited to the body of water it is used upon, it is still of great value and importance to the Acropolis realm._

Aragon grinned and excitedly said, "Yes, this is it! I could use this pearl for the moat and overthrow Dorothea and take back my kingdom. Or better yet, I could forget this realm and rule over another realm entirely with it! The possibilities are limitless!" Aragon was once again shushed by the library's occupants.

"I believe it would be wisest," the executioner stated, "to keep this situation quiet. If the princess were to find out you were conspiring against her, she would surely lock you away."

"Yes, you're right," Aragon said. He then concluded, "Take me to this realm. I must see and obtain this pearl, and I can't stand being in this sorry excuse for a kingdom any longer."

"At once, your highness," the executioner said. He grabbed onto Aragon's hand and flew out of the library, then rising up to the gateway to the Ghost Zone, anxious to begin his reign anew.

* * *

Seems kinda rushed to me. Well, there's Aragon, reunited with the executioner ghost. We'll get back to the Fentons next chapter.


	3. Welcome to the Cruise

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. A majority of the characters in the story are owned by Nickelodeon. Some characters are my own.

* * *

Cruise Crisis

* * *

Chapter 3: Welcome to the Cruise

* * *

In a parking garage several yards from the piers, the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle (simply called the RV for the sake of the occasion) was driving erratically to find a parking place. While this driving behavior was normal for Jack getting to a ghost attack, Jack specifically didn't want to miss out on the pre-departure activities.

"Jack, the cruise ship doesn't leave for another hour!" Maddie told her husband, holding onto the dashboard for her life. "Don't you think you should slow down?"

"There's always a limbo contest somewhere on the ship before takeoff," Jack mentioned, "and I'll be darned if I miss out on it!" Jack kept a sharp eye for a good parking spot, finally going, "A-ha!" at the perfect one. Jack hit the brakes and slid action movie star style in perfect alignment with the space. He then quickly drove in for the park, slamming the brake before he could collide with the parking barrier.

Jack jumped out of the RV, luggage in hand, and darted for the pier, calling to his family, "Go, go, go, go, GO!"

Jazz showed concern on her face over her father's behavior, asking her mother, "Mom, do we really have to-?"

"Of course not, dear," Maddie said, assuring her children they didn't have to be in such a rush. "Your father tends to be very... excitable at events like this. You should've seen him at every one of our homecoming games at high school."

After being assured they were in no hurry, Danny and Jazz grabbed their luggage and followed their mother to the piers. As they made their way to the ship, Danny kept a wondering eye around the garage, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

Upon arriving at the piers, the three noticed a long line of people at the side of a ship with the decals that read _La Bonita_, below it reading _A Cruise de la Cruz Resort_. The group didn't have much difficulty find Jack holding their space in line, as a heavy-set man in an orange jumpsuit tends to stick out like a sore thumb amongst a line of either the casual of the luxurious. He was about six parties away from the entrance. When the rest of the family met up with Jack, he told them, "And to think you wanted to come later. We couldn't have gotten a better place in line!"

Once the Fentons made it to the end of the line, they met with the ticket counter up front. She had a very plain look on her face, as if bored from doing this for the past several minutes, with a ticket scanner and computer for passenger verification. "Tickets, please," she said, just as plainly.

Maddie reached into her luggage and pulled out the four tickets that would grant her family access to the cruise ship. The counter scanned the first ticket, and after checking her computer for a name confirmation, asked the family, with a new found pep, "Are you the Fenton party that won the contest?"

Maddie seemed a little stunned and answered, "Why, yes. How did you know?"

"The cruise director-slash-captain told me to spot you," the counter said. "He wanted to meet you all personally."

"Really?" Danny said, a great deal of suspicion in his voice. "How interesting to know!" Still annoyed by her brother's thinking of this whole cruise being a trap, Jazz elbowed Danny in the ribs to keep him quiet.

"He's waiting for you at the room checkout counter," the ticket counter informed. "You'll notice him the minute you see him." After scanning the rest of the tickets, the counter told the Fenton family to go forward, granting them access to the cruise ship.

The Fenton family stepped onboard the ship, first going through a short hallway that led to a security checkpoint. After the family was checked clean, they continued down the hallway and exited to a luxurious room. Marble floors, reflective columns, glass elevators, and a pianist in the center of it all.

"_This_ is the checkout room?" Jack said in awe, his mouth agape with the rest of his family.

"And that must be the cruise director," Jazz said, pointing to a dark-skinned man in a bright white jacket suit and matching captain's hat, sporting a black cane and debonair mustache. She ran up to him, extending her hand and introducing herself, "Hi, I'm Jasmine Fenton."

"Oh yes, the contest winner," the man said, speaking with a smooth Hispanic accent. He took Jazz's hand and shook it, introducing himself, "I'm your cruise director and captain Armando de la Cruz. I am pleased to meet you, Jasmine."

"You can call me 'Jazz,'" Jazz smiled. She then signaled to her family to come over. Jack and Maddie came right over, although Danny hesitated, still judging the area around him. He followed up with the rest of his family after a few seconds.

"And this must be your family," Armando said upon meeting the Fentons.

"We are," Maddie answered for Jazz. "I'm Maddie, this is my husband Jack, and this is our son Danny."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Armando said. The captain couldn't help but notice the youngest one was looking at him strangely.

As soon as Jazz found out Armando was looking at Danny who was observing Armando, she quickly interjected, "Oh, he's _very_ shy." Not paying attention to her brother's dirty look, Jazz asked, "So why did you want to meet us personally?"

"I've done this with _Women Geniuses_ for the last four years," Armando explained. "My daughter is an editor for the magazine and I'm one of the judges of the contest. I found your essay to be very interesting, Jazz."

"Thanks," Jazz blushed.

"So, Captain," Jack intervened, "what kind of activities do you have here? I _really_ need to stretch my fun muscle."

Armando laughed at Jack's eagerness and answered, "Well, we have a rock-climbing wall on the deck, we have live entertainment every several hours in the auditorium, a special club room for the children, a shark cage..."

"A shark cage?" Jack said, his excitement at a new level.

"Yes, a shark cage," the captain assured. "On the second day of the cruise, we park the ship in a remote location where ocean life thrives. I thought it would be a good idea to give my guests a live action view of the fascinating wonders of the sea."

"That sounds awesome!" Jack said. "We gotta do that!"

"Why am I chatting your ears off, Fenton family?" Armando laughed. "You should have checked into your rooms by now! Please, go to the counter. Pick up a brochure while you're at it, it will tell you everything."

"I think we'll do that," Jack said. He then struck a dynamic pose and called, "Come on, Fenton family! To the checkout desk!" Jack led the way as his family followed, although Danny couldn't help but look back at the interesting new character.

* * *

After getting their room keys and finding their rooms on the third floor of the ship, the Fenton family thought now would be the best time to settle in before doing any leisurely activities. While Jack and Maddie tended to their own room, Jazz was in awe with her and Danny's. The room was moderately spacious, with a pair of separate beds, a television, a wide window to see the port and open ocean, and a bathroom. They were even greeted to the sight of a towel wrapped to form a monkey hanging from the ceiling light.

"Man, this is too awesome!" Jazz squealed.

"Yeah, it's really great," Danny said, not as enthusiastic as Jazz, but sounding happy nonetheless. He threw his luggage on his bed and opened it up to sort through his belongings.

"I still can't believe that we're actually doing this!" Jazz said, looking through the window, the wide ocean looking welcoming. "These great rooms, high class entertainment, fancy dining, and at no cost! ...well, maybe the dining. I can't wait to-" As she turned around to tend to her own luggage, while noticing Danny deal with his, she spotted something shining and tubular on the end of it. "Danny, what's that?"

Upon hearing the question, Danny's eyes widened and he quickly slammed his luggage shut and stood in front of it, leaning back against it. "Nothing, what's what?" Danny stammered, trying to find the right way to answer that question.

"Danny..." Jazz glared at her brother.

"Look, if you're so suspicious," Danny said, quite annoyed, "take a look inside!" Danny stepped away from his luggage, continuing to face Jazz while doing so.

"Okay then," Jazz said, coming to Danny's luggage.

When Jazz reached Danny's luggage, the two gave a reasonably long glare to each other. Jazz was first to quit the stare-down, taking her attention back to the luggage. Danny watched she put her hands on the opening flap, then in a sudden movement, she grabbed his arm and shoulder and spun him around. "Hey!" was all Danny could get out as his attempt at hiding something he didn't want his sister to know he had was put in vain.

"A Fenton Thermos, Danny? Really?" Jazz asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"How did you know I-" Danny said as Jazz took the thermos from his hand.

"Used your ghost powers to phase the thermos behind you from your luggage so I'd open it up to be welcomed by your underwear?" Jazz completed for her dropped-jaw brother. "I'm your sister Danny, I'm supposed to know these things."

"Listen, Jazz," Danny said, taking back his thermos and stowing it back away in his luggage, "forgive me for being a little cautious, but I know a thing or two about things being too good to be true. I bet that shark tank was meant specifically for us. Or at the very least, for me! Do you know what I'm getting at?!"

"Danny, can't you just be a normal teenager for one weekend?" Jazz pleaded. "Now I know that I can't imagine what you've been through, like losing a schoolmate or that whole demon dimension thing, but I also know that this cruise is what you need to relieve all the stress that comes to being a superhero. There's a reason it's called a 'getaway!'" Jazz went back to her luggage and pulled out a swimsuit and told Danny as she headed out the doorway, "Now I'm going to go up to the pool to relax and have fun. You can either come up and do the same or stay in here like a paranoid mess."

As soon as Jazz shut the door behind her, Danny really got to thinking. Has this whole hero thing really been making him a paranoid nut? Has this new life got him to thinking the whole world is out to get him? Has fate finally decided to throw Danny a bone and let him have a break? As much as Danny wanted to protect his family, he didn't want Jazz to be mad at him for the whole weekend. But then Danny remembered what he had once said to Jazz. He was a kid. Kids were supposed to be carefree, especially in situations like this.

Opening his luggage again, Danny dug out his swim trunks, ignoring the thermos, and moved out of his room, calling down the hall, "Jazz, wait up!"

* * *

There it is. The third chapter. Now that I'm writing two fics at once, there can probably be more delays. I assure you they won't be nearly as long.


	4. Poseidon's Pearl

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. A majority of the characters in the story are owned by Nickelodeon. Some characters are my own.

* * *

Cruise Crisis

* * *

Chapter 4: Poseidon's Pearl

* * *

Back in the Ghost Zone, Aragon and the executioner were flying through the many realms, finally coming across the Acropolis. Flying through the Greek land lost in time, Aragon couldn't help but absorb its beauty. "All these centuries," he said, "I never knew such places like this existed outside of my kingdom." He then noticed an area with many fountains, and maliciously said, "This place could be perfect for me to start anew."

The executioner stopped Aragon, placing his massive hand in front of his chest, as he pointed forward saying, "There!"

He had pointed to a very large fountain, more resembling of a pool at almost the size of a soccer pitch. Its waters were more blue than any ocean, and the marble hippocampi decoratives sprayed water from their mouths to enhances the beauty seen. But it was the center that caught the pair's attention. A stone chest with merpeople carved into it stood on a platform in the direct center of the fountain. "Poseidon's Pearl lies in there?" Aragon asked. "They would just leave it out in the open for the taking?"

"Surely there is some sort of defense mechanism," the executioner said, looking around the area.

The two walked around the fountain and met back at the other end. They were left scratching their heads having searched high and low for some sort of trap. Aragon then said, "If there is nothing, then go get it."

"What?" the executioner said, slightly uneased. "Your highness, if you-"

"Executioner!" Aragon raised his voice. "If you are as loyal as you say you are, you will go across that fountain, retrieve that pearl, and bring to me without question! NOW!"

The executioner glared at Aragon, said, "Yes, your highness," and did as he was told.

The executioner hovered across the fountain, albeit with caution, as he moved quite slowly and kept looking around him. Halfway to the center, a massive wave suddenly toppled over him, stretching far enough to wash away Aragon. When the executioner resurfaced, he took sight at what caused the sudden wave. Before him stood (or floated in the fountain, rather) the until now hidden guardian of the pearl, a giant hippocamp. It gazed at the executioner with its piercing red eyes, seeing an intruder that needed to be removed.

The hippocamp delivered a mighty whinny and lept up to dive on top of the intruder. The executioner managed to fly out of the way, avoiding the beast and the resulting tsunami from its impact. The hippocamp looked around for its target after the water settled enough, finding him over its head throwing a noose around its muzzle. With the hippocamp in his clutches, the executioner pulled up at it, trying to over power the beast, but alas it was too strong as it dove into the water and dragged him down with it.

Aragon looked worriedly across the fountain, fearing his last remaining loyal subject was taken. After what seemed like an eternity, the executioner's head bobbed above the surface. The executioner shook his head dry, pulling up his rope to find the noose he had thrown had come up empty. The executioner was dumbfounded (which was difficult to tell because of his hood), as his nooses were notoriously tied tight. Suddenly, behind him, the hippocamp breach from the water. The executioner saw the hippocamp at the last possible moment, but couldn't react fast enough to avoid being slammed by it under its crushing weight.

Aragon had seen the whole scene. He had waited a whole minute for something to happen. When nothing showed up, he went through a slew of emotions. First of sadness, as his only follower seemed to be gone. Then of fear, as he was now alone in an unfamiliar setting. Then of anger, as he was now unable to take his kingdom back and take revenge on his sister. He stuck with that emotion as he called into the air, "CURSES!!!" He continued, "My one chance at taking back what is rightfully mine is gone! How can I possibly get the pearl with that- that beast guarding it?!?"

Almost as if on cue, a brilliant flash came from behind Aragon. He spun around when he saw the projecting light around him, seeing some sort of rip in the area behind him. The light dimmed to reveal some sort of rift that showed filthy water running across some sort of stone walkway. Aragon then thought back to his previous readings. "I believe this must be what I think it is," he said, poking his head through the rift. "A natural ghost portal. They randomly appear all over the Ghost Zone and lead to the human world. The human world in which that wretched Danny Phantom lives." Filled with hate from even the mention of the name, a fiendish idea popped into Aragon's head.

"Of course," he remembered. "Danny Phantom stole my kingdom from me. It is only fitting that I take something from him! His entire world! With Poseidon's Pearl, I will construct a new kingdom and become KING OF THE SEAS!!!" Aragon the looked back at the chest and realized he was still empty-handed. "But how do I get that pearl?!"

As Aragon pondered, he didn't notice a pair of liquid tentacles emerging out of the rift behind him. Before he knew it, he was dragged through the portal by a mysterious, wet presence.

Aragon suddenly found himself pressed against a wall with his body encompassed in a watery pod. Before he could attempt to escape, he caught sight of his attacker. To his surprise, it was a beautiful girl who was not quite human. Her arms were the liquid tentacles holding him against the wall, stretched out from several feet. Her hair was a dark blue hue that began on her scalp as normal hair, but as it went down became a constantly shifting liquid glob. Her eyes were empty, only the whites remaining, and her flawless skin was a lighter shade of blue. She was "standing" on top of the running sewage, although since her lower body resembled a liquid serpentine merged into the water, that term should be used loosely.

After a longer than necessary staredown between the two, the girl released Aragon, dropping him to the concrete beneath. As he was getting up and recovering from the event, he looked back up at the girl, who looked back at him with her empty eyes and said, in a frighteningly emotionless manner, "You are not Danny Phantom."

Seeing her glide across the waste water with her only words ringing in his ears, Aragon got up catch up with her. "Wait!" he called. Now parallel with her on the walkway, he asked, "What does someone like you have against Danny Phantom?"

She didn't look at him as she soullessly answered, "I must finish him. Once and for all."

The wheels in Aragon's head began turning as he developed a scheme in which both could get what they want. "You know," he said, "I can bring Danny Phantom to you." The girl stopped and turned around slowly, suddenly intrigued. Aragon continued, "All you have to do is help me retrieve something. Will you assist me?"

The girl simply continued to stare at the dethroned ghost prince and answered, "Whatever it takes to end the ghost boy."

"Excellent!" Aragon exclaimed. "Now let us make haste before the portal closes!" As the two hurried to the portal, Aragon had to ask, "By the way, what are you called?"

She answered, "I am called 'Downpour.'"

"Well, then, Downpour," Aragon said reaching the portal, "look down there." He pointed to the chest in the center of the fountain and continued, "I must retrieve what is in that chest, but an enormous beast is guarding it. I need you to distract that beast until I can get the pearl in that chest."

Downpour looked down at where Aragon had pointed and said, "And then you will take me to Danny Phantom?"

Aragon chortled and answered, "If all goes right, Danny Phantom will practically come to you." Downpour finally showed some sign of emotion with a malicious smile. The new look somewhat frightened Aragon, but as soon as she lept into the portal, he anticipated the results.

As Downpour dived into the fountain, the hippocamp srung right back up. It looked around to find that there was nothing on the surface. Seeming confused, it was unaware of a pair of long watery tentacles creeping up the sides of its head. They then shot into the hippocamp's mouth, as Downpour attempted to pull down on the liquid reins from behind it. Downpour pulled down with all her might at the reins, but the hippocamp was just too big and strong to get any real control over. It dove back into the water, taking Downpour down with it.

Aragon looked on, having an unnerving sense of déjà vu. But since it was familiar to him, he made up for his mistake of standing still the first time and made his way to the chest. When he flew to the halfway point, the hippocamp popped right back up again, directly in front of Aragon. Aragon was paralyzed in fear at the monster's fear-inducing whinny, but upon seeing Downpour at the liquid reins, he became only slightly calmer, which evolved into complete relievedness when she finally gained control of the beast and sent in toppling to its side in the water.

With the coast clear again, Aragon made a mad dash for the chest. Now in front of his treasure, Aragon's mood shifted from a terrified thief to a confident criminal, even using a distinct laughter to go with it. "It's all mine, now," he said, his hands on the base of the lid. "Soon, the human world's oceans shall be mine!" Aragon lifted the chest's lid open as the fight between Downpour and the hippocamp rose back to the surface. His moment of glee vanished once he saw what was inside the chest. The Pearl of Poseidon was, in fact, a simple pearl no bigger than a marble. For something contained in a chest suited for something many times the pearl's size and claiming to hold as much power as it did, Aragon expected it to be more intimidating looking.

Aragon picked up the pearl with his thumb and forefinger, still with a look of disappointment on his face. "This is it?" He said, slightly angered. His anger built as he continued, "This is what I risk my well being for?" He finally exploded, "This pebble is supposed to help me RULE THE HUMAN WORLD'S OCEANS?!?" In a fit of blind anger, he turned around a drove his fist into the fountain's water. At impact, the water parted from his fist into two massive waves. The water's separation disturbed the battle between Downpour and the hippocamp, which was further disturbed when the water rushed back in and sandwiched the two.

Aragon was initially stunned at what had just happened, then he realized the power he now possessed and began to laugh evilly. "Yes," Aragon said, his eyes fixated on the pearl. "This _will_ help me rule the human world's oceans!" He then looked to the battle and called, "Downpour! We must depart!"

He jumped into the water and jetted at the battle, avoiding the hippocamp and grabbing Downpour by the wrist. The hippocamp made haste to follow the disturbers of the treasure as Aragon made his way to the portal. Aragon and Downpour made it out to the other side to the human world, just in time before it closed as the hippocamp breached to catch them and found nothing but empty space.

Aragon flew out of the sewers and above Amity Park's streets, his treasure in one hand and his cohort in the other. "And now to start a new reign of terror," Aragon said.

"And you will bring me Danny Phantom?" Downpour asked.

"Danny Phantom and much more..."

* * *

For those of you that want to find out more about the character Downpour, read my other fiction called "Drown Your Sorrows."


	5. Down with the Ship

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. A majority of the characters in the story are owned by Nickelodeon. Some characters are my own.

* * *

Cruise Crisis

* * *

Chapter 5: Down with the Ship

* * *

Back on Earth, the cruise ship Cruise de la Cruz was making its way back to Amity Park port after taking its many passengers on a weekend of pleasure and relaxation. With several hours 'til port, the ship's passengers were taking in as many activities as they can before heading back to the mainland known as reality.

Among the passengers was the Fenton family, playing a game of pool volleyball. Jack and Danny had come back from a four point deficit, and tied themselves with Jazz and Maddie. The ladies had their game faces on as the game winning point was about to be scored. The men were in a far corner of the pool, huddled for strategy.

"Alright, Danny," Jack said to his son. "We have them where we want them. We'll toy around with 'em for a bit, and just when they least expect it, WHAM! Fenton Spike!"

The plan strategy sounded great, but then Danny had to ask, "Wait, is that even a thing?"

"No, not really," Jack sighed. "I just thought 'spike' with the name 'Fenton' in front of it would sound cool."

Just then, an idea popped up into Danny's head, him telling his father, "I think I know how we can make it a thing." He proceeded to whispering in the ear of Jack, who had a grin crawl onto his face as Danny went further into detail.

"Are you two having a tea party over there," Maddie called from across the pool, "or are we gonna play some volleyball?"

"Oh, we'll play, alright," Danny menacingly said. "Serve it up, Dad!"

Jack lobbed the ball up in the air and thwacked it with his wrist to the opposing side. The ball went in Maddie's direction, who hit it up in the air to Jazz. Jazz set up the next shot for Maddie, who executed a brutal attack. Danny saved the play, hitting the ball up in the air for Jack to set up. Jack lobbed the ball very high in the air and ducked into the water. While the ball was still going up, Danny moved over to where Jack had ducked down. Danny leapt onto where Jack was as the ball began to drop down. Just then, Jack sprung out of the water, launching Danny into the air to smack the ball into the opposing force on its way down. Jazz and Maddie, too surprised over what they just witnessed, couldn't reach the ball in time, it hit the water and gave Jack and Danny the winning point.

"What on Earth was that?" Maddie asked, still stunned over what just happened.

"That was the Fenton Spike," Jack boasted.

"In all its unrehearsed, impromptu glory," Danny added.

"There's no way that's even legal!" Jazz tried to argue.

"Who ever said cruise ship volley ball had to have rules?" Danny said. "It's all in good fun!"

"Well, whatever it's supposed to be," Maddie said, exiting the pool, "I can say that that game wore me out some. Jack, would you mind escorting me to the juice bar?"

"That's a request for some time alone with me if I ever heard it," Jack caught on. He left the pool with Maddie to get their refreshments.

With Danny and Jazz still in the pool, Jazz swam up to Danny, slyly saying, "Well…?"

"Well, what?" Danny responded.

"Are you gonna admit it?" Jazz said, still not letting on.

"Admit what?" Danny continued asking.

"That I was rrrrrrrrr…."

"That you were rrrright?" Danny caught on.

"Exactly!" Jazz said. "You haven't brought up any insane theories of this being a trap all weekend! You needed this, Danny, and you know it!"

"Yeah, I guess I _did_ need this," Danny admitted. "It's nice to just relax and not worry about ghosts for a few days. I mean, this weekend was the best! There was that rock climbing wall, seeing the sea life from that shark cage, even seeing Dad win that limbo contest. I had no idea he could go that low!"

"Yeah," Jazz said. "It kinda makes me sad that it'll all be over in a few hours."

"Well, whatever we do in these last few hours," Danny assured, "they'll be among the best I've ever had. And it's all thanks to you."

"Oh, stop it," Jazz said, turning her head down to hide her blushing face.

"No, really. You won us this cruise and got me out of this paranoid funk I've been having. I mean a ghost attack out here? In the middle of the ocean? What are the odds?"

Just then, the two felt the ship shake, almost as if it came to a sudden stop. Danny slapped his forehead and muttered, "Why'd I have to open my big, fat mouth?"

As Danny was getting out of the pool, Jazz started to run after him, assuring Danny in panic, "No, Danny, maybe it's… maybe the engine stalled up. Or, or maybe we hit a dolphin or something."

Danny made it to the edge of the ship, looking over the banister to see the ocean quickly rising. As Jazz caught up to Danny, he turned around and said to her in a collected tone, "We're sinking. We're sinking fast!"

"Well, it's not like we know ghosts are involved!" Jazz said, trying to keep Danny from going into hero mode. She looked over the edge while continuing her argument, "We just have to get Mom and Dad, get to the lifeboats-" Jazz was cut off by the sight of the ocean seeming opening around the ship.

Jazz turned her attention back to Danny, catching up to him and telling him, "Danny, you've _got_ to see this!" Before

As Jazz was turning Danny over to the direction of the banister, the two saw a rising wall of water around the ship. It was three feet above their head and rising even higher by the second. It was then when the two heard the cries and panics of the rest of the ships passengers. They saw the wall of water rising higher and higher, reaching well over the highest point of the ship before enclosing itself, cutting off the ships connection with the sky.

"So much for hitting a dolphin," Jazz muttered.

The ship was further sinking into the sea, and Danny had a hunch as to why, but nothing was concrete. What ghost would want to take down the ship he was on, or at least the one he _happened_ to be on? He didn't have to assume it was all happenstance that his ship was going under, as just out the corner of his eye, he saw another cruise ship going down, encased in an air bubble not unlike the one that encased his. The second cruise ship was then followed by a tugboat, and a speedboat came after that.

"We have to move to the front, now!" Danny said to his sister, grabbing her by the wrist and leading her along.

The two made it to the front of the ship, where they caught up with their parents, and saw just where all the other boats were sinking. In front of him, he saw a giant castle made of sand. The castle was so large, it made Buckingham Palace look like a doll house. Surrounding it were ships of various shapes and sizes, all encased in their own bubbles; from aircraft carriers, to luxury yachts, to even the lowly rowboat. Danny even spotted a bright yellow pedal boat with a young couple, deathly scared for their lives.

"A giant castle made of sand with all these boats in air bubbles surrounding it can mean only one thing!" Jack proclaimed. He then dramatically added, "Ghosts." While Danny would normally spend hours on end wondering how what his father said could make any sense whatsoever, he had the same hunch.

As Danny's ship touched ground, water sprouted onto the deck of the ship, as if the bubble encasing the ship sprung a leak. People near the spot immediately fled from it as the puddle that the leak making began to rise and take shape. It wasn't long until the leak formed the shape of a fifteen foot tall golem, still connected to the leak, which Danny could help but recognize.

"My name is Aragon," the water golem announced, "and I am your king!" Danny clenched his fists, remembering his previous entanglement with the ghost in question. He looked around to see many other boats had a similar golem on them.

"All of you are now peasants in my kingdom," Aragon continued, "You are to follow new laws, new rules that I will very soon set into play. Anyone who does not follow these rules will be swiftly punished. The first rule: I am to be known by everyone as 'You Royal Majesty,' or 'King Aragon.' Anyone who fails to do so will see their vessel destroyed."

"You're no king of ours!" one man in a rowboat said. He caught the attention all of the golems, and none of them looked happy (not that they looked happy to begin with). The bubble containing the rowboat suddenly rose up, causing the man to lose balance and hold on to the edges. The bubble suddenly collapsed in on itself, breaking the boat into many pieces with the man desperately swimming to the nearest boat. He collapsed in the air bubble of a nearby fishing boat, whose occupants made fast work to get him onboard their vessel.

"To anyone who saw that," Aragon threatened, "let that be a lesson as to what happens to those who defy me." The golem, as it did on other boats, disassembled, crashing down and splashing anyone near it.

"Alright, everyone," Jack called out. "This is clearly a ghost plot. I can't say I'm prepared for this, seeing as the equipment I carry with me at all times was confiscated for 'security purposes,' but I know that if we can all pool together, we can find a way to take that ghost down! Now, who here has an ecto-generator?"

Jack looked around to find blank, empty stares. "Are you all telling me that none of you have an ecto-generator?"

"No one knows what that is!" one person called out.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Jack muttered, before shouting out, "no one has an ecto-generator when you especially need one! At least not in _this_ economy."

While Jack was miserably failing to rally the crowd, Danny fled to his room, Jazz hot on his trail.

As Danny was rushing to his room, he was thinking to himself how Aragon could even accomplish such a thing. As far as he knew, Aragon was powerless without his amulet. But all the amulet could do was turn him into a dragon. There was no way it could also allow him to do something like this. Could Aragon have a new artifact in his arsenal? He can find out soon enough when he confronts him face-to-face.

Danny arrived at his room's door and phased through, having left his room key by the pool. As he was scavenging through his luggage to find the Fenton Thermos he had taken with him, he heard his sister banging on the other side of the door.

"Danny, wait!" Jazz pleaded. "You can't just leave the ship!"

Danny went to the door to let his sister in and asked her, "What do you mean I can't just leave the ship? In case you haven't noticed, Aragon has us all held prisoner!"

"You have to think about this, Danny," Jazz explained. "What if Mom and Dad notice you're gone? This is a cruise ship! There are only so many places you can be!"

Jazz made a strong point. At least in Amity Park, Danny had an entire city to hide in, even having his best friends, Sam and Tucker, cover for him. But being trapped on a cruise ship limited his options.

"Maybe Mom and Dad won't have to worry where I am," Danny slyly said. He then took a deep breath and tightly clenched his body.

Jazz was under the assumption that with Danny's clenched eyes, teeth, fists, and strenuous groans, he was trying to exert some sort of energy, but had no idea what it could be. Jazz was knew it, Danny sprouted a second head. She would have been grossed out by that if he hadn't split into a second torso to prove things could get even freakier. Finally, his lower body split in two, and Jazz was now in the company of his brother times two.

Both Dannys slowly opened their eyes and looked at each other. "It worked?" one Danny said.

"It worked!" the other excited exclaimed, giving the first Danny a high five.

Jazz, at a complete loss of words over what just happened in front of her, could only muster up, "There two of you?"

"Vlad's used a power like this more times than I'd like to remember," Danny began to tell Jazz.

"I've been trying to pick it up for the longest time," the other Danny continued.

Jazz still didn't know what to say. "You… can do… that?"

"Well, I've done it before," Danny informed in an assuring manner.

"Twice," the second Danny added.

"The point is now you don't have to worry about Mom and Dad finding out about anything," the first Danny ensured. "I'll stay here with you on the ship…"

"And I'll pay Aragon a little visit," the second Danny finished, taking the Fenton Thermos from the first Danny. "They won't suspect a thing!"

Jazz, finally able to collect herself, said, "Okay, that sounds like it can work."

With that, a bright ring appeared around the second Danny. The rings separated, replacing his swimsuit with a black jumpsuit with a special emblem adorning his chest. Along with the jumpsuit came white gloves, boots, and belt. Danny's black hair became white, his blue eyes became green, and his body emitted a ghostly glow. This second Danny was now Danny Phantom.

"See you when this thing is over," the second Danny said, diving into the floor to retrieve who knows what.

With Jazz and the first Danny alone in the room together, Jazz asked, "Now what?"

"What else?" Danny said. "Get back with Mom and Dad while I give Aragon a royal beatdown."

* * *

In the ships lower regions, the second Danny phased in through its roof. Knowing that this was where they lowered the shark cage, Danny knew the scuba gear had to be close by. Scanning the room, Danny found just what he was looking for. He grabbed himself an air tank and breathing mask, strapped them on, and phased out of the ship.

Now in the ocean, Danny pointed himself in the direction of the castle, propelling himself to defeat Aragon and save everyone from his clutches.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the castle itself, Aragon stood leaning over the balcony. His head was now decorated with a crown made of coral, Poseidon's Pearl at its center. Aragon was pleased with what he saw: a vast collection of ships and vessels, almost all of which had people still on board, that made up a new village that surrounded his castle.

"Would you look at this, Downpour?" Aragon asked, to which his lovely assistant showed up beside him. "All of this is mine. This castle is mine. These ships are mine. These peasants are mine! This ocean is mine! EVERYTHING IS MINE!" He then let out a pleased cackle, though Downpour was again void of emotion. After he calmed down, he looked onto his kingdom and pondered aloud, "Now, what new law shall I enforce next?"

As he was overseeing his new kingdom, he spotted a black streak. Upon sticking his head out a little further, he was able to identify just what the streak was. He gave out a joyous laugh and summoned, "Downpour, come here!" She arrived next to him as Aragon pointed out, "It looks like Danny Phantom has decided to start a one-man revolution."

Something clicked in Downpour that caused her to attempt to charge right. Aragon was just able to hold her back, instructing her, "No, Downpour, let him come to us!"

"I must finish Danny Phantom!" Downpour said, still thrashing through Aragon's restraint. "Once and for all!"

"Let me toy with him first!" Aragon ordered, throwing Downpour back. Downpour didn't travel far from the throw, able to right herself and float in place before touch back down to the castle floor. "Let me taunt the boy. After I had my fun with him, he's yours to finish off."

Downpour stared at Aragon with her lifeless eyes and asked, "Once and for all?"

Aragon looked back down at Danny and grinned maliciously. "Once and for all."


	6. In the King's Court

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. A majority of the characters in the story are owned by Nickelodeon. Some characters are my own.

* * *

Cruise Crisis

* * *

Chapter 6: In the King's Court

* * *

Aboard Cruise de la Cruz, Jazz and Danny came back to where they last left their parents, seeing them still trying to make some sort of gizmo to get them out of the bubble.

"Now if I've got this thing finely tuned," Jack said, holding up a hot dog rotisserie covered with flashlights, all powered by a cell phone, "this will send out a concussive blast that will demolish that castle and with it, the ghost that occupies it."

With a press of a button on the phone, the flashlights blinked a little before going back out again. Whoever was paying attention didn't seem all too surprised, as the device clearly looked like it wouldn't work.

"If it means anything, Jack," Maddie said to her husband, "I thought it would work."

"You'd think it would," Jack said. He looked at the phone and cursed, "For cryin' out loud, they have an app for this!"

Rather than see his parents' fail, Danny turned back to the castle, just able to make out his duplicate zooming towards it.

"What do you think is going on in there?" Jazz asked.

Danny continued to look at the castle and said, "I'm about to find out."

* * *

The second Danny finally arrived at the castle courtyard, decorated with sand pillars, a sand fountain that didn't flow (at least he couldn't tell underwater), and some sort of royal crest carved into the ground beneath him. As soon as he touched ground beneath him, the massive doorway opened up before him. Was Aragon expecting him to show up? Keeping that thought in mind, Danny walked through the doorway constantly looking around and having the thermos prepared. As soon as he was in, the doors slowly closed behind him.

The doors led to an endless hallway, with Danny barely able to see the end. Looking to save time, Danny lifted off his feet and flew down the hallway. The trip down the hallway wasn't an exciting one. The decoration never changed from parallel sand busts of Aragon every ten feet. With the end of the hallway finally in sight, Danny slowed his pace, not wanting to fall head first into any sort of trap.

Danny now found himself in some sort of ballroom. It served as the center to many rooms would exit, including a splitting staircase, and was decorated with all sorts of sea-lost treasures, such as water damaged paintings, rotted furniture, and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Before Danny could start searching through any of the doorways for Aragon, the prince himself should up descending one of the staircases.

"Danny Phantom," Aragon said, in a pleased. "I had a feeling you'd arrive."

Danny wasted no time and immediately fired a ghost ray at Aragon. The ray smacked Aragon in the chest sending him into the wall behind him. "How are you doing this?" Danny demanded.

"If you must know," Aragon said, composing himself, "I have the power of Poseidon's Pearl, a Ghost Zone artifact that is currently centering my crown." He pointed to his crown jewel.

Before Danny could fire a blast at Aragon's head, he was suddenly pulled toward Aragon for reasons he didn't know. When he was face to face with him, Aragon said to him, "It's what allows me to do that, and this!" With a wave of his hand, Aragon summoned another current that pulled Danny away for him and into the far wall.

Danny retaliated with another ghost ray, again pegging Aragon in the chest. "That thing is going back to the Ghost Zone," Danny said, preparing the Fenton Thermos, "and you're going there with it!"

Before Danny could twist the cup off, it was suddenly pulled out of his hand by a current summoned by Aragon. The thermos found itself in Aragon's hand, and the ghost prince laughed maniacally at his sudden upper hand.

"You know what's so funny about the water of your world?" Aragon asked. "It's everywhere! It surrounds so many things! It surrounds the sands that make up my castle. It surrounds this device you seemed to want me imprisoned in."

Danny found himself suddenly pulled toward the ceiling, smacking hard into it as Aragon finished, "It even surrounds you!" Aragon then brought Danny crashing to the floor.

"Whoever controls the ocean," Aragon continued over Danny's moans, "controls the world! And seeing as you're the one who took my kingdom away from me, I couldn't resist the opportunity to take your world from you!"

"You're not gonna get away with this!" Danny said, getting back to one knee.

"Have you looked beyond these castle walls, boy?" Aragon gloated. "I already have! But I think I've wasted enough of my time on you."

Aragon began to retreat back upstairs. Danny began to chase after Aragon, leaping at him from where he stood. He was just a few feet short when he felt a wrap around his ankle. He was suddenly flung back into an opposing wall. Danny was dazed after the impact, but when his senses came to, he saw just what flung him back. He found his lag was wrapped by a tentacle from a liquid at a slightly different shade of blue compared to the rest of the ocean around him, as if it were an entirely different liquid. He followed the tentacle's source and found it to stem from the arm of a blue-skinned girl he never thought he'd see again.

"Paulina!" Danny said, recognizing his old schoolmate turned superhuman.

* * *

Back on the Cruise de la Cruz, while Jack and Maddie were trying to make another device to get the ship out of their perilous situation, Jazz and the first Danny remained observers in the background. Danny suddenly gave a surprised gasp, drawing the concern of his sister.

"What's wrong?" Jazz asked.

"Paulina's in that castle," Danny informed her.

"How do you know that?"Jazz asked, more curious in this new ability.

"I don't know," Danny said, trying to find an answer. "I guess I have some sort of network with my duplicates or something. But why is she there?"

* * *

About to taste the impact of another impactful swing, the second Danny fired a ray at the tentacle around his ankle, severing himself from Downpour's grip. Downpour's arm reformed to a solid state as Danny demanded, "What are you doing here, Paulina?"

"I must finish you!" Downpour answered. She leaped at Danny to give him a spinning kick in the jaw, but Danny caught her ankle and threw her aside. As much as he didn't want to harm someone he knew so well, this wasn't the Paulina he knew.

He flew up to Aragon face-to-face and demanded to know, "What did you do to her?"

Aragon simply laughed and said, "What did _I_ do to her? I found her this way! Defeating you is all she ever talks about!"

Aragon summoned another current that pushed Danny back. Danny was pleased that he didn't go into a wall, but then felt a liquid blast that propelled him up towards the ceiling. He was cursing at himself for forgetting about Downpour before he got tangled in the chandelier. He passed out of the chandelier and fired a ghost ray at the chain keeping it suspended. Knowing the physics of gravity underwater wouldn't help him, he grabbed onto it and sent it crashing down on Downpour, which sent crystals and blue water droplets floating every which way. Before he could absorb the complete horror of what he had done to the girl he used to have a mad crush on, the water droplets quickly reformed to a solid Downpour. Danny had no time to react when she made tentacles out of her arms and wrapped them around Danny's shoulders, tossing him overhead into a wall behind her. Danny hit the wall hard and was fighting just to stay conscious. Needing a breather, he phased through the wall to get away from Aragon and Downpour.

Danny found himself now in a wider hallway than the one he entered in, taking the time to recuperate from his encounter. "Okay, so Paulina still isn't in her own state of mind," Danny recollected. "And I can barely keep up with her. Has she gotten stronger since I last seen her?"

Danny's moment of recollection was cut short as the wall he was leaning against exploded behind him. Danny again found himself on the ground, seeing the chunks of sand dissolve into small mounds on the floor. He turned around to see Downpour ready to fire again, Aragon in tow, cackling in delight.

"Amazing what a strong enough current can do to a solid sand wall, isn't it, boy?" Aragon said.

Getting up, Danny saw Paulina's lower body had liquidated formed a liquid tail, similar to something he'd use in flight. However, he noticed that the liquid that made up her tail merged with the ocean, not really having a tip. The last time Danny fought Downpour, she made a huge wave out of a room filled with ankle-high water when she was connected to it. With the entire ocean fueling her, she was inescapable.

Danny moved back as far as he could, trying to get some distance from his assailants, though he knew it was pointless to even try. Downpour unleashed a mighty blast at Danny, but Danny managed to put up an ecto shield to avoid taking the blunt force of the attack. The force of the blast was enough to drag Danny's feet across the floor, the sand leaving long dug out trails. As hard as Danny tried to resist, he knew he was losing the battle. He had to stop this assault now. Careful to move the shield while keeping himself protected, he bent the wall he was forming into a curved half-pipe, which sent the water blast back to where it came from. As Aragon had not anticipated such a surprising counter and Downpour was too focused on fighting Danny, both took the full force of the liquid, knocking them back several meters.

Danny couldn't believe how fast Downpour was tiring him out. He was panting hard enough to fog up his diver's mask, and if he wasn't already underwater, he'd be sweating bullets. He still kept his ground and braced himself for the next strike.

Downpour was quick to recover, though Aragon took more time to collect Danny's thermos and readjust his crown. Downpour fired a long distance shot at Danny, which he was able to neutralize by firing a ghost ray at it, both blasts canceling each other out. Downpour did this again, but Danny fired back, neutralizing another strike. The two kept going back and forth, neither gaining any solid ground on the other. As Danny prepared another ray to counter, his hand glowing green with power, it suddenly began to flicker. Danny took his eyes off his opponent to see what was happening, seeing his prepared charge continue to flicker until it died out as little sparks jumping out of his palm. "What-?" was all he could muster before suffering another strike from Downpour's blast.

Danny was still shook up from the impact, only making it to his hands and knees. As Downpour was making her way towards him, Danny was able to come to the conclusion, "Paulina hasn't gotten stronger. I've gotten weaker!"

Danny finally attempted to get away, but Downpour wrapped a liquid tentacle around his ankle and slammed him against a wall. Before Danny could recover from that, he was slammed into the opposite wall. Downpour closed in on him, her wrap around his ankle widening around to his whole body. Danny suddenly found himself unable to move when Downpour and Aragon walked up to him.

"It looks like this is the end for Danny Phantom!" Aragon taunted. He then held up the Fenton Thermos in front of him and gloated, "At least I'll have something to remember you by!"

Danny continued to struggle from Downpour's entrapment. While he knew struggling in similar situations would only make things worse, he couldn't just do nothing. His struggling didn't get him anywhere, and it was only when the liquid started leaking into his diver's mask did he notice it was in vain. It didn't stop him from continuing to struggle.

* * *

Back on Cruise de la Cruz, Jack and Maddie had completed another device, fire extinguisher with all sorts of receiving devices attached to it made from parts of a remote control boat which was further connected to a disposable camera. The Fenton parents were several feet away from the extinguisher, and Jack pressed the camera button. As soon as the flash triggered, the electronics from the toy boat caused the fire extinguisher to expel all of its contents. Nothing happened after that. It was, after all, just a fire extinguisher.

"Well, that was pointless," Jack said, unsurprised.

As Jazz was standing by as an onlooker, she heard heavy breathing coming from her brother, she looked to him and asked in a concerned manner, "Danny, are you okay?"

"We gotta get away from here," Danny said quietly. "Now!"

Danny ran away from the scene of his parents working, their backs just so happened to be turned. Jazz was quick to follow.

"Danny, what's this all about?" Jazz asked.

"The fight's not going in my favor," Danny answered, barely able to catch his breath. "I don't know what'll happen if I-" Danny suddenly gasped deeply, clutching hischest as he fell to the floor.

Jazz stopped in her tracks, turning to see her brother collapsed face-first on the deck. She quickly got to her side and turned him over to see if he was still breathing. After getting that confirmed, she started shaking him to get a response.

"Danny!" Jazz said, trying to get something out of him. "Danny, wake up! Wake up, Danny!"

Danny remained unresponsive.

* * *

Paulina's vision was blurry. She last remembered being in darkness, so it was only natural that things seem out of focus. When everything came to, she found herself floating. This being a surprise to her, she rocked forward and flailed her arms in confusion to keep steady. After she got herself upright, she immediately noticed a wall of sand in front of her, with bubbles of air rising up in front of it. She looked right down to see an air tank attached to a breathing mask. Paulina speculated that she must be underwater if she could see these bubbles, but why was she not wearing one? Wouldn't she need to to be underwater? Did breathing underwater just happen to come with her powers? What was she doing underwater anyway? What was the tank even doing there? Did Dr. Van Roekel plan any of this?

Before another question could spontaneously appear in her head, a voice behind her said, "Well done, Downpour!" She turned around to see a thin young man with blue skin and a coral crown with a pearl at its center. He was carrying some sort of thermos with him that she recognized, but couldn't place.

"Um... What are-" Paulina started.

"I didn't think you could even be capable of performing such a task!" the man said, not letting her finish. "Now I see how valuable to my kingdom you really are!"

"Kingdom?" Paulina asked, more confused than ever. The last thing she remembered, she was in a lab. "I don't-"

"Spare me the pleasantries, Downpour," the apparent king said. "I've not the time for congratulations and the like. If you excuse me, I must inform the kingdom that this is the day where the reign of King Aragon is made absolute!"

The man, apparently Aragon, proceded to exit the hallway that Paulina just noticed was a hallway. Paulina still didn't have any idea what was going on. What was Aragon even king of? Why was he not wearing a mask? Was he even human? She had to know. She called out to him, "Wait! I don't-"

"Downpour!" Aragon violently snapped, causing Paulina to recoil in fear. He then ordered, "I asked to be excused. You will do as you're told! Whether you are my aide or not, you are still a part of my kingdom! You will follow my orders just like everyone else, or the consequences will be _very_ severe. Now do as your king demands and excuse me!" With that, he left the hallway and was gone.

All of what Aragon just said to Paulina only added more questions. When did she become his aide? Why was she his aide? Has anyone suffered these consequences? Did that air tank belong to someone who did? Still confused and now scared from Aragon's outburst, Paulina dropped to the floor, balling herself up and sobbing.

"What's going on?"

* * *

Here's the part where I gotta do some explaining. If any of you out there read "Drown Your Sorrows," you'll recall two chapters opened up with narration. Well,there was supposed to be a third at the end that I totally forgot about writing. I was so excited to finally finish up on that story that I just forgot to add it in. That narration would have explained how the mind device that Paulina(I guess we can call her Downpour here) had on her was improperly removed, and as a result, the message to her mind didn't go with it. Without the mind device, Downpour was no longer linked to a cerebral network (in this case, that of Technus) and couldn't be called off or take new suggestions. Van Roekel would then explain that he wasn't sure what would happen to Downpour after she finished her last task, as he didn't have the heart to test just what would happen himself. Would still be associated with Technus' network now that her mind was free of any task? Would her cutoff from any network prevent her from receiving or conceiving any suggestions, making her a lifeless shell of a being? Would she revert back to having free will? Well, now you know that last one actually did happen. Downpour _did_ believe she eliminated Danny Phantom once and for all, so now we have Paulina back. A Paulina who has no idea what's happened since the last time she was sentient.


	7. Tension Below

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. A majority of the characters in the story are owned by Nickelodeon. Some characters are my own.

* * *

Cruise Crisis

* * *

Chapter 7: Tension Below

* * *

Jazz had laid her brother on one of the beds of their room. Though it had only been several minutes, it seems like hours since Danny collapsed on their way to their room. They were still under the sea, trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Jazz knew Danny must have been unsuccessful in defeating Aragon, but she couldn't think of a reason he would collapse like he did.

Just then, Danny started to stir up, moaning groggily and putting his hand on his head. Jazz noticed and as soon as he was upright, she pounced over to him, hugging him tightly.

"I just knew you'd wake up, Danny!" Jazz said, tears running down her cheek. "Please tell me you're okay!"

"I'm fine," Danny said, trying to pry out of his sister's death grip. When she let go, Danny asked. "What happened while I was out?"

"Well, we're still trapped," Jazz informed. "That Aragon guy made another address. He said that our one hope was lost. He thinks you're..." Jazz couldn't bring herself to finishing the news.

"I think I know what he was thinking," Danny said. "Do Mom and Dan know anything about me?"

"They're still trying to make something to get us out of here," Jazz informed. "As far as I know, they don't know anything about you. You know how they are when they have their mind set on something."

"Well, that's good," Danny said, lying back down on the bed. "Everyone thinks that I'm how they prefer me to be."

"So what happened in that castle?" Jazz asked. "What caused you to pass out like you did?"

"I'm trying to remember that myself," Danny said, collecting his memories. "I was in the castle. I ran into Aragon. He said he had some pearl in his crown that allows him to do all of this."

"Some sort of Ghost Zone artifact?" Jazz added.

"That's right," Danny confirmed. "And Paulina showed..." Danny stopped, really remembering the person he had confronted in the castle. Blue skinned, empty eyed, not of her own mind. "No. That wasn't Paulina..."

"Danny," Jazz brought up, "I remember you saying that she was there."

"She was there, but it wasn't her," Danny explained. "She... isn't herself anymore. There's only Downpour, now. I fought her and she beat me. Then... she drowned me."

Jazz gasped in disbelief. She then had a slew of questions for Danny about what he just told her. "But what was Paulina even doing in the ocean? Why's she with Aragon? How did she even beat you? And are you saying that Paulina _is_ Downpour? How did-"

"It's complicated!" Danny snapped, not wanting to go into a sensitive subject. Danny calmed himself down quickly and continued, "The weird part is my powers started going out during our fight."

"They did? Why?"

"I don't know. It's like I came to the battle half-charged and-" Danny stopped mid-sentence and finally realized what went wrong in his last fight. "'Half-charged,' of course! Idiot!"

"Danny, what are you talking about?"

"I've just figured it out," Danny explained. "That duplication power isn't really a duplication power. It divides my power! I'm only half as strong when I split up! Vlad even explained just that to me! How could I have forgotten that?"

"But I thought Vlad duplicated himself all the time!" Jazz said.

"That's because he's stronger than me and knows how to use that power. I can only count on one hand the number of times I've done it right."

"I guess that explains why you passed out. The strain of a duplicate going out like that must've been too much a toll on you. I think I'd even factor in the distance between you two. Just how far _can_ the copy go from its source?"

"Well, it looks like I don't have any other option," Danny said, getting off the bed on slightly unsteady legs. "I'm gonna have to go back there whole. No duplicates or anything."

"What?" Jazz shockingly reacted. "Danny, we don't even know if you're a hundred percent! And what about Mom and Dad?"

"Jazz, this is Aragon we're talking about here," Danny explained. "All I have to do is get that pearl away from him and he'll crumble. Sixty percent of me has got to be better than a hundred percent of him. And Mom and Dad won't even know I'm gone. You know how they are when they have their mind set on something. You said so yourself, right?"

"But what about Downpour? What if you run into her again?"

Danny was much more hesitant with an answer this time. He thought a moment and responded, "My only focus is on Aragon. If I run into Downpour... I'll just have to think of something then."

"But Danny..." Jazz was now fumbling for another reason. "What if... What about... How are you..."

"Jazz," Danny said, stopping his sister by softly placing his hand on her shoulder. "You really can't think of any reason for me to wait, can you?"

Jazz finally stopped coming up with excuses and finally let Danny know, "I'm just worried about you. You're my little brother."

"I know, Jazz," Danny said, trying to be comforting. "But this is bigger than you and me. Everyone's in trouble, and if I don't do something about it, then who else will?"

Danny then shifted into Danny Phantom and told Jazz, "I have to do this." Before phasing through the floor below, he added, "And I'm sorry if this isn't the vacation you wanted."

"My younger brother is a superhero," Jazz said. "I probably should've expected this." She then added, "Now, don't you have a world to save? Again?" Danny gave her a sort of half-smile before going through the floor to the lower decks of the ship.

Jazz was alone in her room again. All she could do was hope Danny knew what he was doing.

* * *

When one thinks of sand castles, they often think of childhood memories at the beach, mixing sand and sea water in a bucket and slamming it down to make it stand on its own, maybe even put a small twig on top. Others think of competitive art, using their skill and infinite patience to present luxurious sculptures of an unpredictable element. Never has a sand castle had such an aura of dread around it than the centerpiece of Aragon's kingdom.

Inside the castle, Aragon stood in his room, admiring the Fenton Thermos, holding it above him. The fact that the small canister was now in his hands was the definitive symbol that proves Danny Phantom was no more, and he was the one who made it so.

"The day Danny Phantom fell," Aragon announced to himself, "will be forever known as the day the day his world became mine. The day that King Aragon's kingdom became supreme!"

Aragon then began to observe the Fenton Thermos and said to himself, "You know, the human world has many containers similar to this one. Perhaps I can enforce a new law against them."

He placed the thermos on a small desk next to his bed (king sized, naturally) and made his way to the balcony. There, he took a look at his kingdom once again, smiling triumphantly upon the many sea vessels that made up the village in front of him.

As Aragon was about to make liquid golems in front of each ship and enforce a new law through them, something peculiar caught his eye. Some sort of black streak coming toward his castle. As it got closer, he noticed the base of that streak, the end moving forward, had a humanoid shape, and had a metal tube on its back. It was then that Aragon became all too familiar with what that streak was.

Aragon's jaw dropped and he shouted, "No! This cannot be! How can-" He then sneered as he figured out just how it could be.

Paulina had been exploring the castle for what seemed like ages. She had already deduced that she was underwater, she just didn't know why. She was looking for any kind of clue that would give her an answer.

Before she could enter another room, she felt a pulling sensation from behind her. It suddenly got stronger, to the point where she was swept away. Confused and terrified, she was hurdling through many corridors and hallways, most of which she had never been through. She finally stopped right in what looked like a well-furnished bedroom, although she didn't have much time to process that with Aragon directly in front of her.

"Tell me what happened!" Aragon said. "I demand to know what happened!"

Paulina had no idea what he was talking about. "I still don't-"

"I saw you finish the job!" Aragon angrily exclaimed. "What kind of fool do you take me for?"

Still terrified of this stranger yelling at her, Paulina whimpered, "I really don't-"

Aragon then grabbed Paulina by her costume and pulled her towards him. Paulina turned her head away from him as he threatened, "I don't know what happened for this issue to be brought up again, but if you fail me, then so help me!" Aragon brought his free hand up, causing Paulina to recoil.

"Now get out there and finish the job, once and for all!" Aragon demanded. With that he threw Paulina out the balcony window, though the current he created took her most of the way, as well as direct her down toward the courtyard.

* * *

Danny once again found himself in front of Aragon's castle. It was funny how the last time he was there, he was also somewhere else. But now, he's solely at the castle, with Aragon in his sights.

Before he could even make it to the door, he heard a terrified screaming coming from above. Danny looked up to see some sort of black streak. His instincts told him that this had to be Downpour, but considering their last encounter, expressing any sort of emotion seemed to be the last thing on her mind. Still, Danny assumed a stance to ready himself for battle.

Downpour landed some ten feet in front of him, however, her head was buried in her arms, as if she was trying to protect herself from something. It was here that Danny felt something was wrong, which is why he didn't attack right away.

While all of this was happening, Aragon stood atop his balcony to witness the battle, which hadn't even begun to brew yet. His patience with Downpour was running thin, and he wanted to see results now.

Back in the courtyard, Danny stood defensively, choosing to see what Downpour would do first. What he saw her do was somewhat a surprise. She slowly raised her head from her arms, and Danny noticed something very different. The fact that Downpours skin was a light brown and that she had irises and pupils again were a given, but the look in her eyes wasn't that of a cold minion, but a frightened girl. She then gasped as her look changed from frightened to surprised.

Danny lowered his guard as he realized that Downpour was not the one in front of him.

"...Paulina? Is that you?"

Paulina, meanwhile, was simply gazing at the boy in front of her. The black jumpsuit, the white hair, the glowing green eyes behind the air mask.

"...Danny ...Phantom?"

Danny Phantom. The person she used to call "Inviso-Bill." The person who saved her from countless ghost attacks. The person she fell madly in love with. The person she built a shrine in her locker for. The person who seemed more interested in that goth geek, Sam Manson. The person who, upon seeing the new her for the first time, attacked and talked down on her. The person Dr. Van Roekel promised he would help forget all about.

Every detail Paulina started to recall just made her more upset. Danny didn't seem aware of her mounting anger as he slowly began to approach her. "Are you okay, Paulina? Is everything alright?"

Paulina couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was almost like he was caring about her again. Finally fed up, she blasted a shot at Danny, sending him a good distance back. Holding back the urge to cry, she screamed back, "Of course everything's not alright!" She kept attacking Danny, who had now taken to dodging her shots, and continued, "I was supposed to forget about you! I'm not supposed to have these feelings for you! You hurt me!"

"Look, I'm sorry for reacting at you the way I did," Danny said, trying to reason with the heartbroken teen before him, "but there are better ways to resolve this!"

Paulina kept blasting at Danny, but he kept weaving and dodging her attacks. Realizing that the ranged game wasn't working, she leapt forward at Danny, using her powers to jet into Danny with a full-speed tackle. She collided into him and smashed him into a pillar. She then liquefied her arms and spread the liquid around Danny, pinning him against the pillar.

"Maybe I should end you," Paulina said, her anger making her somewhat crazed. "Maybe all my feelings will go away if I make sure you're gone forever."

Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing from her. "Paulina, this isn't like you at all!"

"Don't think I haven't noticed that little air mask of yours!" Paulina said, ignoring what Danny just said. "I could drown you right know if I wanted to!"

"This is wrong, Paulina!" Danny said, trying his hardest to get through to her. "You don't know what you're doing!"

Paulina hesitated just a bit, almost as if she had an idea. "You're right, ghost boy," Paulina said, in a demented calm. "I don't know. I don't know anything! Maybe you can answer me some things before a drown you!"

"Um..." Danny wasn't sure how to respond to Paulina's request. "I... guess I can do that."

"First, I want to know where I am!" she demanded.

"Well, you're in the ocean-"

"_Where_ in the ocean?"

"At Aragon's castle!" Danny firmly answered. "I don't know _exactly_ where that is, but that's where you are!"

"Okay, fine." Paulina decided that was the best answer she was going to get and continued, "Why am I even here?"

Danny thought for a moment and answered, "I don't know."

Paulina gave Danny a death stare as she hissed, "I don't like that answer!"

"Well, I don't really have an answer!" Danny retorted. "If I had to guess, I'd say Aragon manipulated you while you were in an altered state."

"Fine, whatever." Paulina didn't care much for that answer. Paulina then remembered, "There's one more thing I want to know."

As this was happening, Aragon continued observing from his balcony. He was anxiously waiting for something to happen, muttering, "Get on with it!"

Paulina asked Danny, "What do you see in that goth geek that you don't see in me?"

"Wait, what?" Danny said, completely baffled by the question.

Paulina began listing off, "I'm prettier than her, more popular than her, _definitely_ more fashionable than her, and I saw her in your arms during that Canadian ghost attack!"

"Oh, you can't seriously consider drowning me because of that," Danny said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "That was weeks ago!"

Paulina seemed to ignore what Danny had said and continued, her voice cracking, "Why did you break my heart like that? Why did you turn your back on me?"

"I didn't turn my back on anyone!" Danny shouted. "I saved Sam because she was in trouble! I'm kind of a superhero! It's what I do! I don't have any personal preference for who I save! When people are in trouble, I save them!"

It seemed Danny's words were finally getting through to Paulina, as her expression appeared less tense. Danny then instructed to Paulina, "Turn around." She did so, still keeping him pinned to the pillar. Behind her, she gasped as she saw a massive field of ships and boats that she hadn't noticed before, having been too angry at Danny to do so.

"All those ships have people in them," Danny explained. "Aragon dragged all of them down here and made everyone in those ships his prisoner. They all depend on me whether they know it or not, and if you drown me, they're all doomed. They're in trouble, and I'm the only one that can help them!"

Paulina turned back to Danny, who saw that her expression changed to that of someone who was starting to regret what she was doing. If they weren't in the ocean, Danny would bet that her eyes would be welling with tears.

Upon seeing Paulina's face, Danny softly added, "And right now, seeing you completely in the dark of where you are, what you're even doing here, even being made into what you are... I can tell that _you're_ in trouble. I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but... I want to help you, Paulina."

Paulina continued looking into Danny's soft eyes, sniveling as she did so. Finally realizing how wrong she's been, she let Danny go from her liquid grip as she put her head down and began whimpering.

Danny didn't continue on to Aragon. He stayed where he was, thinking it would be the best way to comfort Paulina, who seemed to be devastated. He began to ask, "Are you-" but she threw her arms around him and began crying on his shoulder before he could finish.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" Paulina cried.

Seeing the emotionally distressed girl wrapped around him, he felt the best thing he could do right now is to hold her as well. As far as helping Paulina, it didn't seem like much, but it was definitely a good start.

Aragon, however, was not pleased with what he saw. In fact, he was downright livid. So much so, that the railing he was holding onto disintegrated back into sand in his furious grip. "What are you DOING?" he screamed as he leaped from the balcony to confront her.

Aragon landing near them disrupted Danny and Paulina's embrace, as the seething self-proclaimed king of the ocean began verbally blasting Paulina.

"You dare to betray me?" Aragon screamed. "Me! The king of the ocean!"

"I don't-" Paulina began to say.

"You will not speak another lie!" Aragon interrupted. "I will have you locked away in the darkest dungeon, where you will-"

"Back off her, Aragon!" Danny interjected. "I'm the one you want, not her."

Aragon began seething, looking at both Danny, then Paulina, then back to Danny. He concluded, "This is true."

A powerful tremor suddenly happened, as the massive doors of Aragon's castle unexpectedly opened. Danny and Paulina were caught off-balance as the doors gradually opened. Suddenly, a powerful current picked Danny up, almost taking Paulina with him, and threw him into the castle's entrance. All Paulina could do was call out, but it was absolutely useless, as Danny was no longer visible past the entrance.

Aragon began to follow Danny inside, but then decided to look back at Paulina and use a powerful current to lift her high off the ground. He sternly threatened, "I will deal with you later." He then threw Paulina straight into a pillar, knocking the wind right out of her (if underwater had any wind to knock out). Paulina began sinking slowly back down to the ground, in pain, while Aragon made his way into the castle, the doors closing behind him.

Paulina shook the blow off, making it back to her feet, but now found herself alone again. Some crazy king wants her locked away, and the only person who could help her was trapped in the castle before her. She started feeling helpless, alone, unable to do anything. She sat back against the pillar with her head hung low, ready to sob her misery away.

But then she remembered what Danny said to her. After everything she did to him, from trying to drown his possible girlfriend to trying to drown him, he wanted to help her. As much as she needed the help, Paulina knew that at this moment, Danny needed help right back. She didn't know what the king was doing in there or what he was going to do, but she knew she had to do something.

Paulina rose back to her feet, knowing now what she had to do. She was going to help the ghost boy.

But how?


End file.
